Human Factors Influencing Contractors' Risk Attitudes: A Case Study of the Malaysian Construction Industry

Malaysia is one of the most rapidly developing countries among developing nations. The construction industry has played a major role in Malaysia’s rapid economic growth. Among the major sectors in Malaysia, the importance of the construction industry is unique regardless of the level of the country’s development. However, the attitude of the construction industry in Malaysia towards managing contractors’ risk attitudes is very weak. The introduction of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1994 by the Malaysian government made all industries in Malaysia to identify risks, conduct risk assessment and control risk. In addition, the Malaysian construction industry simultaneously implemented an integrated system to ensure consistency and better performance of projects. To identify the factors influencing contractors' risk attitudes, relevant literature was reviewed, and a questionnaire survey was conducted. This study focused on the G7 contractors operating in the Malaysian construction industry. One hundred and nineteen copies of a structured questionnaire were analysed with a response rate of 85%. Structural equation modelling was utilized to test the hypotheses developed for the study. Results showed that government policies played a moderating role in enhancing the relationship between human-related factors affecting contractors’ risk attitudes in the construction industry

Does government policy matter? Factors influencing contractors' risk attitudes in the Malaysian construction industry: A structural equation modelling analysis

One of the critical factors responsible for the successful management of construction projects is individual factors. These factors play a significant role in the decision-makers' attitudes towards risks management. Many previous studies regarding the management of construction projects have focused on the factors contributing to the success of risk management. However, little attention has been given to factors severely affecting the decision-makers' risk attitudes with particular reference to an individual's risk factors in the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors affecting contractors' risk attitudes and then determine its relationship with government policy. Theories of planned behaviour and organisational control were used to develop the theoretical framework that investigated G-7 contractors in the Kuantan Pahang, Malaysian construction industry. A review of relevant literature and questionnaire was employed to identify the factors affecting contractors' risk attitudes (personal factors). 112 copies of a structured questionnaire were analysed with a response rate of 80%. Structural Equation Modelling SEM was utilised to test the hypotheses developed for the study. The results of this study, through SEM, proved that personal factors (working experience, professional competence and physical health) have a significant influence on contractor risk attitudes in the Malaysian construction industry. The findings of this research also confirm that government policy (rules and regulations) plays a moderating role in enhancing the relationship of personal factors affecting contractors’ risk attitudes in construction companies in Malaysia. The findings of the study provide more understanding of the personal factors that affect contractors' risk attitudes to facilitate contractors' decision-making process and serve as a useful reference for further studies in the field of construction project management

Analysis of some factors driving ecological sustainability in construction firms

Construction management scholars, institutional investors, and construction practitioners are strongly emphasizing firms’ needs to respond adequately to the harmful effects of construction on human societies and the environment. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the environmental dimension of the triple bottom line of sustainability within the construction industry by considering regulatory framework and a set of organizational capabilities (organizational culture, flexible design, quality orientation, product diversity, and customer loyalty) that have been highlighted to aid firms’ achievement of ecological sustainability. Using survey data of Malaysian large construction firms, structural equation modeling was used to confirm the mediating role of organizational capabilities in the regulatory framework and ecological sustainability relationship. The findings of this study established how proactive firm core competencies can strengthen construction businesses in developing nations to discover new avenues of performing environmentally sound construction businesses. It also demonstrated how a favourable regulation targeted at the unique configuration of large construction firms in Malaysian context could contribute to their environmental sustainability performance. The limitations and future research directions are also discussed

An Evaluation of environmental sustainability performance via attitudes , social responsibility, and culture: a mediated analysis

Demands for environmentally sustainable construction are driving firms towards the adoption of environmental sustainability practices, and the rising regulatory burden to reduce impacts on the intending users and other stakeholders may demand firms restrategising their internal factors and level of compliance towards environmental sustainability in project delivery. Using a cross-sectional data collection method , 185 respondents from Malaysian G7 construction firms participated in this research. We utilised partial least squares path modelling for data analysis. Our findings established strong empirical evidence for the hypothesised positive effects of company culture, managerial attitudes and coercive pressure on environmental sustainability performance. However, social responsibility is revealed to have no effect on environmental sustainability performance. This is not unconnected with the fact that most Malaysian firms incur more social responsibility expenditure in the social sector than the environment. Our findings also established that coercive pressure is a positive mediator and a catalyst that plays a complementary role between managerial attitudes, company culture and social responsibility, and environmental sustainability performance. Policy implications and future study's directions are equally discussed